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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. march — the month
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. current — electric
  6. march — the month
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. press — a publisher
  13. land — ground
  14. press — newspapers
  15. march — music
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. land — a country
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. capital — money
  23. shower — rain
  24. press — to push

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com